Snow Load on the Deck

Last week we had more snow than ever before. We usually get light dustings, but last week we got deep wet snow.

For a land cabin, it's an inconvenience. For a floating cabin it's dangerous. The excess weight can sink the float foundation, and uneven loads can even flip a cabin over.

Snow weighs between 4 and 20 plus pounds per cubic foot depending on the wetness and compaction. Ours was about 12 inches thick and slightly refrozen. We have a 40 x 40 foot float with 1600 square feet of surface area including the roof.

12 inches deep X 1600 square feet = 1600 cubic feet of snow

1600 cubic feet X 20 pounds = 32,000 pounds = 16,000 tons

WOW. Our cabin sank almost a foot! That was enough to cover our cedar log foundation. That's VERY scary!

The only solution was to get shoveling. Wayne and I worked all day. We got most of the snow off of our ancillary docks and the cabin float. We were feeling pretty good until we got more snow that night.

The next day we were at it again, removing snow that slid off the roof and the new accumulation. We continued into the following day, but were finally assisted by some sunny weather followed by rain.

Kind of reminds me of an old Tennessee Ernie Ford song:

You shovel sixteen tons and what do you get?

Another foot higher and lighter you bet.

The crisis is over and float cabin life is back to normal. Whew! Even Mr. Ducky has lost his white parka.

Are you contending with snow? How our you doing? -- Margy